Paper $42.95ISBN: 9781847420527
Published
September 2009
For sale in North and South America only

Cloth $91.00ISBN: 9781847420534
Published
September 2009
For sale in North and South America only

There is no shortage of political and moral commentary on family life. Frequently the underlying theme of these commentaries is the decline of contemporary family commitment, particularly when older people's family experiences are the focus. "Family Practices in Later Life" challenges many common stereotypes about the nature of family involvement as people age. The book explores diversity and change in the family relationships older people maintain, looking at how family relationships are constructed and organised in later life. It recognises that the emerging patterns are a consequence of the choices and decisions negotiated within family networks, emphasising older people's agency in the construction of their family practices. In exploring such themes as long-term marriage, sibling ties in later life and grandparenthood, the book highlights the continued significance of family connection and solidarity in later life, while recognizing that family relationships are inevitably modified over time as people's social and material circumstances alter."Family Practices in Later Life" will be of interest to students, researchers and academics in the fields of social policy, family studies and social gerontology. It provides a valuable contribution to the developing field of critical social gerontology as well as to an understanding of family process.

1. Family practices and family relationships2. Families in later life3. Older parents and their adult children4. Long-lasting relationships5. Brothers and sisters6. Grandparenting7. Later life widow(er)hood8. Globalisation and transnational communities: implications for family life in old age9. Changing times: older people and family ties

ReferencesIndex

For more information, or to order this book, please visit http://www.press.uchicago.edu